NO NEED TO CONSOLE YOURSELF

Guy Cocker A LOT HAS CHANGED since

AMD and Intel unveil next-gen AI CPUs

CPU titans clash again, unveiling chips optimized for AI

AMD-POWERED DUAL-SCREEN OLED LAPTOP LAUNCHES

EARLIEST SHIPPING CONFIRMED AS NOVEMBER

FALL IN APPLE SALES

While the PC market is bullish, Apple sales have slumped.

Tech Triumphs and Tragedies

A monthly snapshot of what’s good and bad in tech

ELITEMINI AI370 OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED

Gaming mini PC’s specs have been confirmed

Red Dead Redemption coming to PC

IT’S OVER 14 YEARS since Red Dead

Internet Archive sufferjhs serious security breach

The well-known repository of virtually all human knowledge

Alpha test of Flight Simulator 2024 announced

On October 8, Microsoft announced a technical alpha

Could AI ‘remaster’ older games in real time?

YOU CAN’T SWING A GPU without whacking into something AI-related—not that I recommend swinging your graphics card around. But one interesting new topic is the potential to remaster old games with AI. Take that to the next level and we could see real-time modifications, so that the graphics spit out by a game engine are munged into something radically different.

THE LIST

THE BEST EXTERNAL SSDs THE BEST EXTERNAL SSDS

AMD needs to lower its GPU prices

AMD CLAIMS it wants to sell more graphics cards. The solution is simple: lower prices. Not just lower prices eventually, but from the beginning of a new GPU generation. This may seem like a retina-popping glimpse of the painfully obvious, but it needs saying, because it seems AMD doesn’t get it. That needs to change if AMD is to win market share back from Nvidia.

DOCTOR

THIS MONTH THE DOCTOR TACKLES...

LETTERS

WE TACKLE TOUGH READER QUESTIONS ON... >

THE BUILDS

THIS MONTH’S STREET PRICES...

CONSOLE KILLING IN 2024

The PS5 Pro has landed. Can the modern-day PC compete?

TAKING THE FIGHT TO OUR CONSOLE COUSINS

LENGTH OF TIME: 2-3 hours DIFFICULTY: Hard

MAXIMUM CALIBER

THERE’S JUST SOMETHING awesome about ITX builds.

PS5 PRO VS. GAMING PC: FIGHT

HOW WE TEST Each issue of Maximum

LOCK DOWN YOUR DATA, YOUR IDENTITY, & YOUR PC

Worried about losing control of your computer, data, or even your identity? Find out how to protect yourself with Nick Peers

PS5 Pro vs. PC

Why the console wars aren’t really a thing

Razer Kraken V4 Pro

PERFORMANCE GEAR LAID BARE

SMART CITIES THE LONG HISTORY OF THEIR FUTURE

Nicole Kobie traces the roots of smart cities back to Victorian London, then takes us on a journey to the concept’s present and future

HOW TO STEP-BY-STEP GUIDES TO IMPROVING YOUR PC

TIP OF THE MONTH AVOID AUDIO BOTTLENECKS A

IFIXIT: AUTOPSY THIS MONTH WE DISSECT...

Apple iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max

Boost your SSD performance

YOU’LL NEED THIS CRYSTALDISKMARK Download it from https://crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskmark

Bench test your security software

YOU’LL NEED THIS VIRTUALBOX Download it from www.virtualbox.org

Make the switch to Linux

YOU’LL NEED THIS WINDOWS 11 An up-to-date installation.

Lock down your Wi-Fi network

YOU’LL NEED THIS ROUTER With installation media and

LAB NOTES

Z AK STOREY, CONTRIBUTOR

AMD Ryzen 9 9900X

Evolutionary advancements, but little else

Asus ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi

A connectivity goliath that looks beautiful to boot

Surface Laptop 7

Snapdragon and Copilot+ in a business suit

LG UltraGear 32GS95UE

The new king of 4K OLED gaming monitors, for now...

NZXT H5 Flow RGB (2024)

Pristine design in need of more space

Acer Swift Go 14

The trackpad that illuminates your life!

Netgear Orbi 770

Affordable Wi-Fi 7 mesh with excellent performance

Noctua NH-U9S chromax. black

A tiny stealth powerhouse

Acer Predator Cestus 335

Not quite the mouse we’re looking for

Silent Hill 2

A fun but flawed take on a flawless gem

Grammarly vs. QuillBot

Artificially improve your writing